


Eagle Eye - Original Warrior Cats Story

by CynthicPsycho



Category: Original Work, Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Cats, Desert, Gen, Minor Character Death, Minor Character(s), Minor Violence, Original Clans (Warriors), Prophecy, StarClan (Warriors), Warrior Cats
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-06-24 19:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19730254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynthicPsycho/pseuds/CynthicPsycho
Summary: Krestelcry is a she-cat living in Oatclan living under Loudstar, a proud, but idiotic leader. The clan has been doing good for themselves with the help of Owlface and Carnationwatcher, the deputy and medicine cat of the clan, but things go sour after a Chaiclan raid and a rabies outbreak hits members of the clan.As Oatclan struggles to stay afloat, a rebellion rises, to kill Loudstar and it is Krestelcry's decision to stay with her leader, her mother, and her family, or risk it all, to get a temporary solution, but be with her fellow clanmates?





	1. Kithood

**Author's Note:**

> Page Count - 3  
> Season - Spring (Late April)  
> TLDR: Krestelkit is having a regular day with her family and she visits her injured father in the medicine cat den.
> 
> Allegiances:
> 
> Oatclan:  
> Leader: Loudstar - Large brown tom with huge paws and yellow eyes  
> Deputy: Owlface - Brown and white speckled she-cat with a smushed face and lots of scars  
> Medicine Cat: Carnationwatcher - Light brown she-cat with amber eyes  
> Senior Warriors: Beaverflower - Large brown tom with green eyes  
> Springsong - Light gray and cream she-cat with light green eyes  
> Warriors: Ravenmist - Gray and brown tom with bright eyes  
> Lionfoot - Light brown tom with large paws and yellow eyes  
> Oldfern - Gray and dull brown she-cat with dull green eyes  
> Frostjaw - Light gray and brown she-cat with abnormally sharp teeth and yellow eyes  
> Runningfoot - Sleek dark brown tom with yellow eyes  
> Apprentices: Eaglepaw - White and brown tom with yellow eyes, his mentor is Frostjaw  
> Tornpaw - Golden-brown tom with green eyes, his mentor is Springsong  
> Queens: Brokenwind - Dark brown she-cat, expecting Runningfoot’s kits  
> Otterears - Brown she-cat with small ears, a permanent queen, expecting no kits  
> Witheredfur - Aging sphynx she-cat with dark eyes, mother of Ravenmist’s kits  
> Kits: Krestelkit - A 4 moon old brown she-kit  
> Eelkit - A 4 moon old sphynx tom  
> Hawkkit - A 4 moon old short furred, dark tom  
> Elders: Largeheart - A Large, golden-brown she-cat with green eyes
> 
> Cactusclan:  
> Leader: Softstar - Cream she-cat with yellow eyes  
> Deputy: Ivyhawk - Scarred light gray she-cat with green eyes  
> Medicine Cat: Pigeoneyes - Old gray she-cat with failing vision  
> Warriors: Gullstreak - Gray tom with a long muzzle and yellow eyes  
> Prickleleap - Gray tom with green eyes  
> Mousescream - Small light brown she-cat with green eyes  
> Lighteyes - Small light brown she-cat with bright yellow eyes  
> Mapletail - Light gray tom with a brown tail and green eyes  
> Waspfang - Cream tom with black stripes and yellow eyes  
> Queens: Mistydream - Light gray she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Waspfang’s kits  
> Ashears - Gray she-cat with green eyes, expecting a kittypet’s kits  
> Bear - Light brown she-cat with green eyes, mother of a rogue’s kits  
> Kits: Gracekit - A two moon old she-kit with gray fur and blue eyes  
> Birdkit - A two moon old she-kit with light gray fur and yellow eyes  
> Wolfkit - Dark gray four moon old tom with yellow eyes  
> Humblekit - Golden four moon old tom with green eyes  
> Elders: Lostfrost - Light gray she-cat with yellow eyes  
> Pikepelt - Messy brown tom with yellow eyes  
> Yarrowtooth - Gray she-cat with yellow, rotting teeth  
> Swiftpuddle - Light gray she-cat with a lame leg and blue eyes
> 
> Poppyclan:  
> Leader: Petalstar - Red and white calico she-cat with green eyes  
> Deputy: Lionnight - Golden and black tom with amber eyes  
> Medicine Cat: Stormsong - Dark gray she-cat with yellow eyes  
> Medicine Cat Apprentice: Daisypaw - Calico she-cat with green eyes, her mentor is Stormsong  
> Warriors: Mistback - Dark gray she-cat with a lighter stripe across her back  
> Rivertalon - Light Calico she-cat with green eyes and large paws  
> Flamestreak - Orange tabby tom with green eyes  
> Violetspark - Gray she-cat with blue eyes  
> Littlewhisper - White she-cat with yellow eyes  
> Pigeonpelt - Speckled dark gray she-cat with yellow eyes  
> Robinflight - Brown tom with amber eyes  
> Slatestorm - Dark gray tom with blue eyes  
> Apprentices: Pinepaw - Dark brown tom with green eyes, his mentor is Violetspark  
> Tinypaw - Dark brown runt with green eyes, his mentor is Mistback  
> Weaselpaw - Brown tom with green eyes, his mentor is Littlewhisper  
> Badgerpaw - Dark gray tom with yellow eyes, his mentor is Pigeonpelt  
> Elders: Sleepingspots - A black tom with white spots with blue eyes  
> Blazesoar - Golden tabby tom with green eyes
> 
> Chaiclan:  
> Leader: Ebonystar - Black tom with yellow eyes  
> Deputy: Palepelt - Light gray she-cat with blue eyes  
> Medicine Cat: Snowhowl - Light gray she-cat with gray stripes and blue eyes  
> Medicine Cat Apprentice: Deerpaw - Brown and gray tom with green eyes  
> Senior Warrior: Tinyflank - Gray she-cat with blue eyes  
> Warriors: Nightsplash - Black and White tom with yellow eyes  
> Bearflank - Gray she-cat with brown sides and green eyes  
> Smokepelt - Speckled gray tom with blue eyes  
> Duckflash - Cream tom with gray stripes and yellow eyes  
> Apprentice: Briarpaw - Brown and gray she-cat with green eyes, her mentor is Tinyflank  
> Elders: Weaselcreek - Black and brown tom with green eyes

It was a hot day, the sun shining on the desert sand. The nursery was warm, making the long furred cats uncomfortable. Witheredfur turned to Brokenwind and mewed smugly, “What, are you too hot? The weather’s perfect!”  
Brokenwind groaned, “Easy for you to say, you don’t have any fur! If Beaverflower doesn’t come back soon with the water patrol, I might get heatstroke. And I don’t want to hurt my kits! Will it Otterears?”  
Krestelkit opened one eye to see Otterears shrugging. She shut her eye so her mother wouldn’t notice the change, but it was too late, she was an expert mother. She chuckled, “It appears that one of my kits was fake sleeping. Krestelkit, you know you should be sleeping in this hot weather. You have thick fur, like your father which makes you more susceptible to heatstroke. You also haven’t gotten the training like the apprentices and warriors have so that you’re used to it. And don’t give me the rant about ‘why you should be allowed to play even in the nursery’. Last time you did, you tore the place down.”  
Krestelkit groaned in frustration and curled up against her so she’d be with her siblings. She slept in the paws of her mother instead of by her side, since it was cooler. But, in an act of rebellion, she curled up next to Eelkit, who didn’t mind having her. He seemed to smile a bit, even if he was sleeping. She then closed her eyes and tried to sleep as the queens babbled on with their normal queen gossip.  
When she woke up next, it was the evening. She could finally play outside and the clan would meet together. The days were lazy with patrols getting water and food but at night, the camp grew alive. The sand cooled and it was safe for kits and elders to walk on so it was a time for eating and playing. This was why it was her favorite time of day.  
Eelkit and Hawkkit were already awake. They were preparing themselves for Witheredfur to give them the signal that it was okay to leave. She was strict about their time outside.  
Witheredfur flicked her tail and mewed, “You three go play, have fun.” They started running out of the nursery. The sand was cool against their paws and went flying as they ran around, as cats began to leave their dens. She noticed Carnationwatcher, the medicine cat, staring at them, concern in her eyes. Being the curious cat she was, she went to investigate.  
She asked, “Carnationwatcher? What’s going on? Is someone sick?”  
She seemed to snap out of a haze, “Oh! Yes, Eaglepaw is sick with a respiratory infection but I was thinking about your father. On the water patrol today, he tripped on a tree root and twisted his front paw. He’ll be fine, but can’t hunt for the next week, or walk for the next few days.”  
She perked up, “Can I visit him? I didn’t talk to him last night.”  
Carnationwatcher smiled, “Of course you can little one, don’t mess with Eaglepaw or the herbs. Your pesky brother almost ruined my entire root supply, thank Starclan I caught him.”  
As she walked in, she saw rows of leaves and roots on the sides of the cave. Nearing the center, she saw Eaglepaw, curled up in his nest, his chest rising and falling in a shaky, but steady beat. A couple fox-lengths away sat her father, eating a lizard. His front left paw was wrapped in leaves and smeared in what looked like one of the aloof cat’s poultices. Once he heard the young she-kit’s pawsteps, he perked up. He mewed, “Oh Krestelkit, nice to see you!”  
She asked, “How is your paw? Will you still be able to play with us?”  
He smiled, “I won’t be able to play for today but definitely next night. I’m thinking about sleeping the night away but that’ll mess with my sleep schedule. Carnationwatcher told me that after she comes back from eating... I can help her treat Eaglepaw’s infection. It’s not my favorite thing to do but it’s better than nothing.” He paused for a second, “You can leave if you want.”  
She asked, “Are you sure? I can stay if you want!”  
He shook his head, “You can go. Play with your siblings!”  
She nodded, “Alright, I will. Thank you dad!”  
As she scurried off, she ran past Carnationwatcher, who was now off in her own world, as usual. She ran towards Eelkit and Hawkkit, who were wrestling over what appeared to be a snake. She never was a fan of the chewy outside but everything else was eagles, which tasted too bland for her. Also, for some reason the feeling of eating something that could kill her in seconds didn’t sit well with her. So, she dove at her siblings, snatching the snake out of their jaws, ending their game of tug-of-war. It took a second for the toms to process it, but once they did they were furious. They started growling at her to give it back.  
She smiled proudly, “Well we’ve gotta share it! It’s already in three pieces since you tugged it so hard.” She dropped it to the ground, blood pouring out of it’s wounds freely.  
While Eelkit seemed defiant and angry, showed by the flick of his tail, he pretended to be calm. Hawkkit looked disappointed but gladly took a piece, “Okay. It’s better than nothing and I’ll check if there’s anything left before sunrise.”  
Hawkkit looked at Eelkit. He nodded before silently crouching down and taking a piece. She took the last piece, enjoying the fact it at least had a decent taste, biting down hard enough so she could chew it. She wondered how her brothers could eat it so well even though it was as hard as a rock. She looked away from them, looking at the stars in the sky.


	2. Apprenticehood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krestelcry is a she-cat living in Oatclan living under Loudstar, a proud, but idiotic leader. The clan has been doing good for themselves with the help of Owlface and Carnationwatcher, the deputy and medicine cat of the clan, but things go sour after a Chaiclan raid and a rabies outbreak hits members of the clan.  
> As Oatclan struggles to stay afloat, a rebellion rises, to kill Loudstar and it is Krestelcry's decision to stay with her leader, her mother, and her family, or risk it all, to get a temporary solution, but be with her fellow clanmates?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page Count - 6  
> Season - Summer (June)  
> TLDR: Krestelkit becomes the apprentice of Oldfern

Krestelkit sat with her siblings and the older apprentices. She felt anxious, praying that she’d get a good mentor. She looked at the crowd, which was a bunch of the warriors. Anyone who wasn’t there was with the leader on the Highrock, which was Owlface, the deputy, and the new mentors.

She watched them, trying to figure out who they were in the darkness. After a bit, she could Identify the shapes of Lionfoot and Oldfern. The muscular Lionfoot stuck out the most... whilst Oldfern was identified by her darker colors. She wondered where the last mentor was. There was supposed to be three.

Tornpaw looked over his shoulder and smiled at her, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine! When I became an apprentice, I tripped and bruised my shoulder, right in front of Springsong! She still doesn’t let me forget to this day!” He started laughing. Eaglepaw smacked him and growled, “Come on, be quiet!”

As Tornpaw turned away, Loudstar began to speak. His voice boomed in the dip of the sand dunes, “Tonight, we have a litter of kit’s become apprentices. an-” he was cut off by a random warrior asking in a joking tone, “Brokenwind’s litter?”

A few giggles arose from the group and she couldn’t help but laugh. They had only been born a few days ago, named Sunkit and Oakkit, a tom and a she-kit. Loudstar stopped laughing and continued, “No, the other litter! Eelkit, come forward.”

Eelkit smiled and brushed past them, trying to keep calm and composed. But, she could see him shaking from excitement. He leaped down from the sandstone ledge and asked, “Eelkit, you have reached the age of six moons. It is time you should be apprenticed. From this day on, until you become a warrior, you will be known as Eelpaw. Your mentor will be Lionfoot.”

As Lionfoot leaped down to touch noses with Eelpaw. Loudstar continued, “I hope you pass down your courage and loyalty down to Eelpaw.”

As Lionfoot touched noses with the short sphynx cat, he turned to her, “Krestelkit, come forward.”

Her pawsteps were much more hesitant, the cats gazing at her. Their smiles were encouraging but she still felt anxious. She let her brother have the spotlight for a bit. Loudstar looked towards Krestelkit, “Krestelkit, you have reached the age of six moons. It is time you should be apprenticed. From this day on, until you become a warrior, youwilll be known as Krestelpaw. Your mentor will be Oldfern.”

She turned to the lean, gray she-cat who leaped down and she quickly touched noses with her. Loudstar mewed over her. “Oldfern, I hope you pass down your speed and conscientiousness down to her.”

She whispered to Oldfern, “What does conscientiousness mean?”

She responded in a whisper, “Willingness to do what’s right.”

She nodded and sat down between her and Lionfoot. She looked at her brother, Hawkkit, who was looking at the Sandstone. He only finding Owlface, which made him panic. Loudstar asked, “You guys must be wondering where Hawkkit’s apprentice is? Well, Hawkkit, come forward.”

The tom’s anxiety seem to slowly turn into excitement as he walked over. Loudstar smirked, “Hawkkit, you have reached the age of six moons. From this day on, until you get your warrior name, you will be Hawkpaw. Your mentor is Owlface.”

His eyes lit up. Being a deputy apprentice was a huge honor that everyone wanted. As Owlface leapt down, Loudstar said, “Hawkpaw, you know how much of an honor this is. Owlface, I hope you teach Hawkpaw your strength and honor.”

Hawkpaw bounded over to Owlface and touched noses with the scarred she-cat. She gave him a small smile before sitting down.

Krestelpaw looked over at her mentor, who was looking at Owlface. She then turned to her and said, “It must be nice to at least have a sibling who is the deputy’s apprentice. But I promise to be a good mentor.”

She asked, “Am I your first apprentice?”

She nodded, “Yes, but Owlface was my mentor before she became deputy, so i’ll try and pass on the things she taught me.”

Krestelpaw nodded and Loudstar continued. “I hope these cats will be become good members of the clan. Meeting dismissed.”

As the group dispersed, Lionfoot laughed. “Loudstar was never good at formal ceremonies, but I don’t mind.”

Owlface nodded and asked Hawkpaw, “So, little kit… do you want to start battle training? It’s a good basis for hunting and you might as well learn it now since who knows when the next battle will be?”

Hawkpaw nodded and followed her to the exit of the clan. Lionfoot started whispering to Eelpaw. She looked at her mentor and she meowed. “Although it may not be the most fun thing in the world, but let’s start with showing you the river. It's the thing that keeps our clan alive. It’ll be a good way for you to know the territory and get used to the sand. We’ll start with night, then dawn, then mid-day. We can’t have you overheat, that’s how so many apprentices end up injuring or even killing themselves. You need to slowly transition into being in the heat.”

She nodded again, unsure of what to say or do. Oldfern got up and lead her to the entrance of the camp, where she found Owlface and Hawkpaw. Owlface mewed to Oldfern, “I heard your conversation, good luck.”

She nodded and they exited the camp. While she expected the outdoors to be like her camp, it was a bit windy and barren... Only bits of dead bushes like their dens scattered around. She realized that from out here, the camp was a dip in the dunes. The sides had compacted to be sandstone, sheltering them. While it was still cool outside, it was noticeably hotter. 

She looked over to her mentor, she was smiling, raising her head which the fur flowed in the wind. She tried to raise her head up but the draft was high up, only small breezes close to the sand.

Oldfern crouched down and asked, “Be careful when running. The sand will kick underneath you so don’t feel embarrassed to call out for me if you fall behind.” Right as she finished, she broke into a run, some sand smacking her in the face.

Once she got to her senses, she broke out into a run, her stride inconsistent as she slid into the sand. Although she hated it, she cried out, “Oldfern! I’m falling behind!”

Oldfern turned, “Oh! I’m coming!”

Oldfern ran towards her, walking effortlessly on the sand. She asked, “How in the name of starclan are you able to walk so well on sand?”

She mewed, “You put too much weight on your front paws. When you walk, your paws are going to sink into the sand. When walking in general, you’ll be using more of your energy in your front paws. To stay at my pace, you’ll need to focus on putting your weight on your back legs since your back legs are not as important.”

She felt weird as her hind legs sunk but she focused on making sure her paws didn’t sink into the ground. Her legs got tired and sand flew as she ran, but she was able to keep up with Oldfern, who ran slower.

As they walked, Oldfern eventually stopped. She had her head down but she raised up as Oldfern mewed, “We’re here!” She looked confused until she saw the river.

The river was very long and wide. It stretched farther than she could see in both directions and was wider than the camp. In the night, it glistened from the moonlight and stars. It had a large, gray rock mound in the center that seemed to glow in the moonlight. It looked magical.

She was mesmerized by it. But, she was pulled out of her trance when Oldfern went to the bank and mewed, “We’ll collect water but have a sip. It tastes so much better than the moss-water!”

She trotted down, staring at the water, before crouching down to the cool water. It felt nice on her whiskers before she took a sip of it. It was the best thing she had ever drank.

Unlike the moss-water, it was cool and satisfying. Her throat didn’t feel dry afterwards… she was actually satisfied. She continued to drink it, wanting to get enough to please herself until the next night. Oldfern sat next to her right, lapping up much slower.

She began to purr and Oldfern looked at her questioningly, but then asked, “Do you want to see something cool?”

She didn’t have time to respond before Oldfern leapt into the river, the water splashing onto the grass bank. The water went up into the air, hitting her in the face.

Once she shook the water off her pelt, she saw Oldfern, who had crawled up onto the rock mound in the center of the river. She mewed, “We are on good relations with Poppyclan. And, this is the only shared territory in the entire desert!”

“How can the rock be the only shared territory?”

Oldfern leapt back into the water, and climbed back onto the grassy bank. “Well, the clans are in constant battle. At the moment, we are having issues with Chaiclan although most of the time, it’s Cactusclan. Have you seen the mountains in the distance?” She pointed to her left to what looked like a granite and diorite mound. It went up hundreds of foxlengths into the sky.

“Well, that’s where Cactusclan and Chaiclan live. Oatclan, Cactusclan, and Chaiclan are very competitive since we have it tougher. Poppyclan is mainly a group of misfits that lives near the twolegplace. They are lenient with territory and many cats who cannot take the stress of clan life go there. We wouldn’t even identify it as a clan if Starclan didn’t say so. We keep good relations with them, since they gave us Carnationwatcher. She is the only medicine cat we so we would be screwed without Poppyclan. You’ll meet them during the next meeting at Shrylock, or what I like to call it, the abandoned kittypet home.”

She laughed, “Is that what it is?”

She nodded, “It was found by Shellshock and Crybounce, a Oatclan cat and a Chaiclan cat. Lockkeeper was the one they learned it from, the kittypet who used to live there. Fun fact, Shellshock and Crybounce are Frostjaw and Bearflank’s parents, one went to each clan. And we know that Frostjaw is the next in line for the deputy if Owlface retires.

She chuckled, “If?”

Oldfern grinned, “She’s the second oldest cat in the clan... besides Largeheart, but she still acts like she’s in her prime, fighting-wise.”

They both broke out into laughter, watching the stars. She could begin to tell she was going to love being an apprentice. A nice mentor, lots of prey, what more could she need?


	3. Warm, Fresh, Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krestelcry is a she-cat living in Oatclan living under Loudstar, a proud, but idiotic leader. The clan has been doing good for themselves with the help of Owlface and Carnationwatcher, the deputy and medicine cat of the clan, but things go sour after a Chaiclan raid and a rabies outbreak hits members of the clan.  
> As Oatclan struggles to stay afloat, a rebellion rises, to kill Loudstar and it is Krestelcry's decision to stay with her leader, her mother, and her family, or risk it all, to get a temporary solution, but be with her fellow clanmates?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page Count - 7  
> Season - Summer (July)  
> TLDR: Disaster strikes when Chaiclan attacks Oatclan camp.

It was dawn, and she had woken up. She had a morning patrol and didn’t want to pass out so she skipped the majority of the night. She stood up and stretched, yawning.  
Oldfern entered the den, in which the rest of the apprentices were sleeping. She trotted over, silently tip-toeing over the apprentices. She whispered to her, “Ready to go?”  
She looked at her, and asked, “Can I go and get something to eat first? I don’t want to patrol on an empty stomach. It's not fun.”  
Oldfern mewed, “You can check if there is anything left in the prey pile. If there is, go ahead! The patrol will start in a few minutes though.” Her gaze was calm.  
Krestelpaw pushed her way through the bracken at the entrance of the den, and looked around the camp. It was empty, but oddly quiet. Normally, some straggling cats would still be out of their den, but she couldn’t put her paw on it. She guessed that some cat did something crazy and was in the medicine cat den. So Loudstar likely sent the younger cats into their dens with the older ones.  
She trotted towards the fresh kill pile, and saw a half-eaten rabbit. She crouched down and nudged it. It seemed fine so she sniffed it. Stale, but edible. She then lied down, prepared to eat.  
She took a bite, and Oldfern trotted over and took a bite. “Do you mind if I have some? I’m starving as well! But I was trying to be formal, y'know?”  
She purred and nodded as an okay and dug in deeper. As they ate, Owlface and Icejaw left the warriors' den and joined them. Icejaw asked, “So, when are we gonna leave?”  
Owlface opened her mouth as if she was going to respond but she stopped. Icejaw looked at her, “What is it? Do you sense something?”  
She unsheathed her claws and stalked towards the entrance. Krestelpaw raised her head to the sky, realizing what was off. It was the smell, it smelled like cats, but not her clan. It smelled sort of like the clan borders.  
Owlface explained, “We’re downwind at the moment, but the Chaiclan scent is too strong! They’re in the territory, Icejaw! Can you report this to Loudstar while me, Oldfern, and Krestelpaw will try and get the group by surprise?”  
Her eyes widened, “M-me? I’ve only done hunting! You've not taught me fighting!”  
Oldfern mewed, “Well, fighting is like hunting, but with bigger things. Your fighting crouch is exactly like your hunting crouch and all you do is aim for the eyes, neck, and stomach. Same hunting tactics, but bite down harder. We’ll do better training later, but do this for now. It’ll keep you alive.”  
While it calmed her down a bit, she was still anxious. Owlface kept low to the ground, sniffing at the sand as they walked. She wondered at how Owlface could find where the patrol was. As they appeared to get closer, Owlface mewed, “The scent is less powerful. As in, there are fewer cats… they might’ve split into groups. Try and drive them off fast, so we can find the rest of the Chaiclan patrol.”  
As they crested the hill, they saw it. There were four Chaiclan cats. A black tom, which looked like the leader of the group. There was a light gray she-cat by the black tom’s side, a black and white tom, and a gray she-cat.  
Oldfern unsheathed her claws, snarled, and charged at the group. This caught them by surprise. But the second they noticed her, the black and white tom leaped at her. Owlface soon followed after, Krestelpaw, a few foxlengths away. Owlface went after the black tom and she was left to face the two she-cats. The light gray one leaped at her, sending her flying into the sand.  
As she shook herself, she noticed the darker she-cat coming closer. This one had her claws unsheathed, prepared to fight. She tensed herself for another blow as she ran over.  
As the she-cat tried to swipe across her face, she bit down on her paw. The she-cat cried out in pain and the other she-cat cried out, “Bearflank! I’m coming to help!”  
The second she-cat tried to dive underneath her to slash at her belly. But from her experience from running in the slippery sand, her hind legs were powerful. So, while keeping her teeth locked, she was able to kick at the other she-cat. The she-cat cried out and scampered away. From what she could see, her right eye was bruised, but that was it. The black tom cried out to her, “Palepelt, you coward! Come back and fight like the Chaiclan cat you are!”  
The cat didn’t listen. As Krestelpaw was distracted by this, Bearflank slammed Krestelpaw into the ground. leaving her lying there, and her running off towards the hills. As Oldfern chased the Black and White tom off, the leader ran off towards Bearflank. Owlface began chasing them as Oldfern made sure she was alright. She had a scratch on her eye.  
Oldfern was frantic, “Are you alright? Y-your cheek...”  
She asked, worried, “What’s wrong?! I can't feel it!”  
She shook her head, “N-no… It’s only a scratch… It’s definitely going to scar but it’s small. I just didn’t expect it.”  
“Oh… okay,” she mewed before saying, “Shouldn't we go after the others?”  
Oldfern nodded before helped her up before they began to run across the sands to reach camp. They were now upwind of camp but at least they knew the way. As they headed back to the camp, they noticed the original two and four more cats attacking camp. Oldfern laughed, “They brought all their warriors but we still outnumber them!” Although that seemed like that would make her happy, but Oldfern still seemed worried. Krestelpaw asked, “Are you okay? Is there something wrong?”  
She sighed, “Chaiclan is known to be violent… I don’t know what is about, but there will likely be casualties.”  
As they ran into the camp, Oldfern immediately went into a fight. As she scanned to find her siblings, she saw Eelpaw crouched in a corner near the nursery. Witheredfur was hissing at the black cat from earlier. They both looked ready to kill, which scared her.  
As she ran through the crowd, Witheredfur and the black tom started fighting. After a bit, the black tom got her on her back. As he tried to give her a death blow, out of nowhere, Hawkpaw slammed into the tom. She finally got into earshot and heard Witheredfur yowl, “Great job son!”  
But, quite quickly, things turned for the worse. The tom seemed to get angrier from starting to lose a fight from an apprentice. So, he appears to explode and the next thing she sees is the black tom, hooking his claws into Hawkpaw’s skull. Everything seems to stop as she watched Hawkpaw being slammed, head-first into a stone. She heard a crack in his head.  
Blood poured onto the stones and sand, and as he let his claws go of his head. Hawkpaw's eyes glossed over and went limp. She ran over faster, kicking sand into someone behind her. She mewed to the cat, "Sorry!" She nudged Hawkpaw. Witheredfur and Eelpaw followed, Witheredfur growling, “Come on you two! We’ve gotta get him to the Medicine cat!”  
She was worried for his brother, so she helped Eelpaw on getting Hawkpaw onto Witheredfur’s back. The two ran off to the medicine cat den. But her numbness soon turned into sadness and she turned to the black tom and whimpered, “Why would you do that?! What's wrong with you?!"  
The tom looked stunned, as if he had just realized what he had done. She charged at him, but he ran off into the quarreling crowd. She tried to follow but quickly saw that Loudstar was already fighting him. She turned to Ravenmist and Icejaw, who were fighting Bearflank. Icejaw was pinned down by Bearflank, covered in blood as Ravenmist bit down on her tail. She ran over and whined, "Stop!"  
Ravenmist let go and turned his attention to her, “These Chaiclan cats need to suffer! They’re attacking our camp! Are you mousebrained?!”  
As he finished those words, she heard from behind him an agonized cry from Icejaw. Bearflank had ripped open his neck and was running away to keep fighting. Icejaw was left heaving on the ground, trying to breathe. She continued, “We are losing and cats are dying! Why can’t we just focus on saving cats… your son might be dying right now!”  
Before Ravemist could respond, she ran off to help Icejaw. She grabbed him his scruff and he leaned on her. He was heavy, but she managed to go a few foxlengths before a bleeding Lionfoot took him.  
She took off towards the exit of camp to escape the fight. She was filled with fear and anxiety to stay in camp, worried she would get hurt. Blood roared in her ears and she ran through the bracken bush and the sand. Sand clumped together from the fresh blood. As she crested the hill, she saw another small fight breaking out with Owlface and a brown she-cat.  
The she-cat looked about the age of Tornpaw and Eaglepaw. She could be a warrior, but a very new one. As Owlface slammed her into the sand, she yelled, "you pathetic she-cat! How about you leave before I change my mind and actually kill you."  
Owlface trotted away angrily and returned to the actual fight. She nodded at her before Krestelpaw ran towards the she-cat. As she trotted down the hill, the cat's eyes widened and she started to whimper, "Please don't kill me! I'm sorry! I was forced to come here! I didn't have a choice!"  
Krestelpaw's gaze softened, trying to calm her down, "No! It's okay... here, let me help you up." She outstretched her paw, but the she-cat hesitated. She tried to stand up on her own, but struggled so she let the she-cat leaned her head on her. She mewed, "T-thanks... why are you helping me though?"  
She replied, "I don't care if you're a Chaiclan cat, you don't deserve to die in the sand. Those wounds are pretty nasty, maybe I can bring you to Carnationwatcher?" She wasn't exactly sure what to do but it was the best thing she could think of. She couldn't let this she-cat walk all the way to her clan for medical help.  
Briarheart sighed in relief, exhaustion clinging at the both of them. Briarheart's soft, brown head rested against her shoulder-blades. Their paws sunk into the ground as they walked, stumbling towards the entrance. She scanned the inside of the ravine, searching for Carnationwatcher in the crowd.  
After noticing that she was not in the crowd, she stalked off towards the medicine cat den. As they walked, she attempted to ease the she-cat off of her to alleviate the weight off herself. But, she persisted to keep her weight on her... whining whenever she shook her caramel, walnut, and umber speckled fur.  
As they walked, she kept her slender body low, as if to not attract the attention of the older warriors. The bulky she-cat seemed light-headed and didn't comprehend this, stumbling and staying high. As they entered the medicine cat den, Briarheart stumbled and fell into a warm nest of feathers and moss.  
It looked nice and comfy, but she couldn't rest in the nests. She mewed, "Carnationwatcher? Are you there?"  
The brown speckled she-cat turned a corner and trotted over. For once, she didn't look aloof, and was focused on treating the cats. She asked, "Yes, dear?"  
She felt nervous, her tail flicking, "Well, I found an injured Chaiclan she-cat, can you treat her? She's only a young warrior and didn't want to be here. She doesn't deserve to die."  
She nodded, making her sigh in relief, “No cat deserves to die, I’ll help her. Thank you for bringing her to me.”  
She curled her tail around her small paws, watching as Carnationwatcher parted her fur, looking for the initial gash to start treatment. It was tough to watch, since whenever she touched a sensitive spot, she convulsed, spraying more blood into the sandstone underneath.  
She decided to head over to the she-cat, assuring her, “Calm down… I can’t imagine how much this hurts, but afterwards, you’ll feel so much better.”  
She noticed that she sank her claws into the moss so she put her paw on hers, which seemed to calm her down, her body slowly relaxing, making it easier to patch up the gashes. Carnationwatcher mewed, “Don’t worry, I’ll give you some poppy seeds after I at least put temporary moss on your gashes.”  
She mewed softly before closing her eyes. She looked up at Carnationwatcher, “She’s fine, just tired. You may stay here if you like.”  
She nodded and looked around to find Hawkpaw, Witheredfur was practically covering her son with her front arms and paws. She walked over, worried, “Is he okay?”  
She flicked her ears as she turned. Her mother, normally so strong looked like a wreck, “He… didn’t make it. I’m so sorry I couldn’t save him… I thought he could fight him-” she stopped, choking from her grief.  
She nuzzled against her mother, trying to comfort herself and her mother. She couldn’t let herself look at the remains of her brother so she just tried to comfort her grieving mother.


End file.
